Taken Star Clive Standen's Workout Routine

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You might remember that time when Liam Neeson said, “I will find you, and I will kill you." How did the character Bryan Mills create those “very particular set of skills” to do that finding and killing?

That’s what the TV series Taken – which has its first season finale tonight – is about: a younger version of Mills, portrayed by Clive Standen, kicking ass, and sometimes getting his ass kicked, as a former Green Beret now working as a spy. AskMen readers may recall my interview with Standen from two years ago when he played the character Rollo on Vikings. A lot has changed since then with his workout, because being a secret agent is a bit different than playing a sword-swinging berserker seeking to cleave enemies in twain.

While Rollo was more about the buff physique, Mills is more about a body that is leaner and high-performance. Because being an action TV star is no picnic when you’re doing all your own stunts. If you’re looking to build a body that can handle high-intensity espionage work, you know, just in case, then Standen’s approach to fitness might be for you.

It started off with a shift in his martial arts training.

“The close quarters fighting we do is Krav Maga,” Clive said, referring to the military martial art created by the Israeli Defense Forces. The fight coordinator is Tig Fong, who worked on 300. Fong is skilled in many forms of combat, and when he learned Standen had been training Muay Thai since the age of 13, decided to integrate that art into the Bryan Mills character. “There are certain moves we play around with. Because I’m a big guy you can use that space to make things look more dramatic.” That’s where Muay Thai comes in.

“But Krav Maga is quicker and up close,” he said. “The guys who were teaching me didn’t go easy on me because they knew I had a martial arts background. They said, ‘You’re a thai boxer. You can take it.’”

Another fighting technique Standen was trained in for the show I had not heard of before. It’s called Systema, and was created by Russians. “It’s another close-quarter fighting style, which involves more knife work. It’s a very bizarre martial art. You use all sorts of weird parts of your body and non-sequitur moves. It keeps you on your toes.”

Will all the martial arts training, Standen spends a lot of time getting beat up by his instructors. It prepares him for all the time he gets beat up on set. “I don’t want the character to be superhuman or have all the answers. He’s going to go up against other characters with different styles of fighting. Certain moves come out of nowhere so he does get smacked in the face or end up on his back. You see his blood, sweat and tears to get the finish line. He doesn’t just kick ass and take names.”

Sounds kind of like real life. I mean, without the whole working for the CIA and trying to save the world stuff. Speaking of real life, Clive didn’t want to be as big as he was when he played a Viking.

“With the Rollo character, there was a lot of heavy lifting involved because it was about having this massive physique,” he said. “With Bryan, he’s a spy, so I wanted to lean down. I’ve been doing a lot more cardio. I wanted a physique where I could sprint a hundred meters and catch someone, but also have the strength to snap someone’s neck.”

But not really snap someone’s neck. TV neck-snapping.

How did he change his physique? “I hate gyms. I hate the idea of lifting weights that don’t need lifting or running on a machine where you don’t get anywhere. I want to get outside and run and use things around me to work out.”

But he doesn’t just go for a run through his local neighborhood. There needs to be excitement and challenge. As it turns out, he found a way to do sport-specific training, with the “sport” being playing the character of Bryan Mills.

“We’re filming in Toronto and there is this amazing place called Pursuit,” Standen said. “It’s an indoor assault course, a bit like Ninja Warrior. There is sprinting, climbing on monkey bars and hoops, jumping and crawling on hands and knees. Kind of like an indoor Tough Mudder.”

And sometimes, the workout is in the acting, as a day of filming can last 15-20 hours. “Apart from the car chases, I do all my own stunts. All the fighting and parkour things are me.” He explained that his regimen isn’t just about being fit and being able to do the fight scenes, but avoiding injury. “The assault course seemed appropriate for that. My elbows and knees and shoulders are getting stronger. It’s a more dynamic way of training than running in a straight line.”

You’re not a spy, or pretending to be one on TV, but there is plenty of merit in training for high performance so you can do the necessary stunts for your own life. And if you don’t have the fight coordinators or access to an assault course, there are other tools Standen uses that are easily accessible.

“I always take my jump rope in my bag everywhere I go. Because of Muay Thai I’ve been skipping since the age of 13. I like to do 15 minutes of a skipping warmup.” He’s also a big fan of hanging punching bags. “If ever there is a punching bag around I like to do a high-intensity circuit. I go for 30 seconds to a minute on the bag, then do another exercise, then back to the bag for another 30 to 60 seconds.” He does this for 12 rounds. “It’s a really good workout.”

For practicing hitting things at home, he has a B.O.B.; a “body opponent bag” that has a rubber imitation torso and head placed upon a stand that you fill with sand or water. “I like to have to pretend instructor that I can fight with,” he said. I interviewed Phil Collen, the guitarist for Def Leppard, for AskMen in 2015. He’s takes his B.O.B. on tour, and gave me a kickboxing display backstage before the concert.

The only weights he uses are the ones that are easy to transport, for using on set: The Bowflex adjustable dumbbellsthat allow you to dial the amount of weight you want to use. He integrates these into a circuit created by trainer Jade Lindsay, and also uses a TRX suspension trainer. The TRX is easily used anywhere and great for body weight training – I have one and love it.

If going to the gym and “lifting weights that don’t need lifting or running on a machine where you don’t get anywhere” doesn’t appeal to you the same way it’s no fun for Clive Standen, there are plenty of other ways to get creative with your workout, have fun, and build your functionality while you’re at it.

Editor's Recommendations

Century Fitness B.O.B

If you're rather punch something with an actual face then a body opponent bag is what you're looking for. This one is adjustable from 60 to 78 inches and weighs around 270 pounds. Not the kind of dude you'd want to fight in a bar but this one doesn't talk smack and doesn't even have arms. But the skin is made with high-strength plastisol and the inner cavity is made with durable urethane so it can take a beating. $269.99 at Amazon.com

Bowflex Adjustable Dumbbells

This is the golden standard of at-home workout equipment. Bowflex offers adjustable dumbbells from 5 to 52.5 pounds. You're essentially merging 15 different dumbbells into one stand and it comes with a stand for storage and a built in towel rack. Or you could just push them under the couch. Your choice.$291.71 at Amazon.com

James S. Fell, MBA, CSCS, is a syndicated fitness columnist for the Chicago Tribune and author of Lose it Right: A Brutally Honest 3-Stage Program to Help You Get Fit and Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind, published by Random House Canada. Visit his site at www.BodyForWife.com for a free weight loss report. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

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